Standard No.:	2015-1931
English Name:	Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution 2015
Chinese Name:	中华人民共和国大气污染防治法-2015
Professional Classification:	20
Issued on:	2015-08-29
Implemented on:	2016-1-1
Status:	valid
Language:	English
File Format:	PDF
Word Count:	12000 words
Price(USD):	240.0
Delivery:	via email in 1 business day

Chapter 1 General Article 1 This law is formulated with a view of protecting and improving environment, preventing and controlling atmospheric pollution, ensuring the public health, promoting the ecological civilization construction and the sustainable development of economy and society. Article 2 As for atmospheric pollution prevention and control, take the atmospheric environment quality improvement as the objective, insist on source treatment, plan in advance, change the economic development pattern, optimize industrial structure and distribution and adjust energy structure. As for atmospheric pollution prevention and control, the integrated control for the atmospheric pollutions from fuel coal, industry, motor vehicle and powerboat, raising dust and agriculture shall be strengthened, the combined prevention and control for regional atmospheric pollution shall be implemented and cooperative control for such atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gases as particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compound and ammonia shall be implemented. Article 3 The people’s governments at or above the county level shall incorporate the atmospheric pollution prevention and control into national economic and social development planning and increase financial investment on atmospheric pollution prevention and control. Local people's governments at all levels shall be responsible for the atmospheric environment quality of their administrative regions, make plans, take measures, control or gradually reduce the emission of atmospheric pollutant so that the atmospheric environment quality reaches the specified standard and the atmospheric environment quality is gradually improved. Article 4 Competent department of environmental protection under the State Council together with the relevant departments of the State Council assess the conditions of atmospheric environment quality improvement objective and the atmospheric pollution prevention and control key task completion of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government according to the provisions of the State Council. The people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall formulate assessment methods so as to assess the local atmospheric environment quality improvement objective and the atmospheric pollution prevention and control key task completion condition within their own administrative regions. The assessment results shall be publicized to the society. Article 5 The environmental protection competent departments of the people’s government at or above the county level shall carry out uniform supervision and management for the atmospheric pollution prevention and control. Other relevant departments of the people’s governments at or above the county level shall carry out supervision and management for the atmospheric pollution prevention and control within their corresponding responsibility ranges. Article 6 The State shall encourage and support the scientific and technical research for atmospheric pollution prevention and control, carry out analysis on the atmospheric pollution source and its variation trend, popularize the advanced and applicable technology and equipment for atmospheric pollution prevention and control, promote the conversion of scientific and technical achievement and exert the supporting effect of science and technology in atmospheric pollution prevention and control. Article 7 Enterprises and public institutions as well as other production operators shall take effective measures to prevent or reduce atmospheric pollution and undertake the responsibility of atmospheric pollution according to law. The citizens shall enhance the atmospheric environment protection consciousness, adopt low-carbon and economical lifestyle and consciously fulfil the obligation of atmospheric environment protection. Chapter 2 Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Standard and Planning of Reaching the Standard within a Definite Time Article 8 Competent department of environmental protection under the State Council or the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall establish atmospheric environment quality standard with the purpose of ensuring public health and protecting ecological environment, matching with the economic and social development and achieving scientific and reasonable. Article 9 Competent department of environmental protection under the State Council or the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall establish atmospheric pollutant emission standard on the basis of atmospheric environment quality standard and national economic and technical conditions. Article 10 As for establishing atmospheric environment quality standard and atmospheric pollutant emission standard, experts shall be organized for examination and demonstration, and the opinions of relevant departments, industry associations, enterprises and public institutions as well as the public shall be solicited for. Article 11 The environmental protection competent departments of the people’s governments at or above the provincial level shall publicize the atmospheric environment quality standard and the atmospheric pollutant emission standard on their websites for free consulting and downloading by the public. Article 12 The implementation conditions of atmospheric environment quality standard and atmospheric pollutant emission standard shall be periodically assessed, and the standards shall be revised at proper time according to the assessment result. Article 13 As for establishing the quality standard for such products containing volatile organic compound as fuel coal, petroleum coke, biomass fuel and coating, fireworks and crackers as well as boiler, the requirements for atmospheric environment protection shall be clearly stated. As for establishing the quality standard for fuel, the national atmospheric pollutant control requirements shall be met, and the standard shall be connected to the motor vehicle, powerboat and non-road mobile machinery atmospheric pollutant emission standard and implemented together with it. The above-mentioned non-road mobile machinery refers to mobile machinery equipped with engine and transportable industrial equipment. Article 14 The municipal people's governments failing to reach the national atmospheric environment quality standard shall timely establish the planning of reaching the atmospheric environment quality standard within a definite time and take measures to reach the atmospheric environment quality standard within the period specified by the State Council or the provincial people's government. As for establishing urban planning of reaching the atmospheric environment quality standard within a definite time, opinions of relevant industry associations, enterprises and public institutions, experts and the public shall be solicited for. Article 15 The urban planning of reaching the atmospheric environment quality standard within a definite time shall be publicized to the society; the planning of reaching the atmospheric environment quality standard within a definite time of municipalities directly under the Central Government and cities divided into districts shall be reported to the Competent department of environmental protection under the State Council for record. Article 16 When the municipal people's government reports the environmental conditions and environmental protection objective completion conditions to the People's Congress at the same level as it or its Standing Committee, it shall report the implementation condition of the planning of reaching the atmospheric environment quality standard within a definite time, which shall be publicized to the society. Article 17 The urban planning of reaching the atmospheric environment quality standard within a definite time shall be assessed and revised at proper time according to the requirements of atmospheric pollution prevention and control as well as the economic and technical conditions. Chapter 3 Supervision and Management of Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Article 18 In case enterprises, public institutions and other production operators construct projects impacting the atmospheric environment, the environmental impact assessment shall be carried out and the environmental impact assessment documents shall be publicized according to law; if pollutants are discharged into the atmosphere, the atmospheric pollutant emission standard shall be met, and the total emission control of key atmospheric pollutants shall be followed. Article 19 Enterprises and public institutions discharging industrial waste gases or poisonous and harmful atmospheric pollutants listed in the list specified in Article 78 of this Law, fuel coal heat source production and operation unit with central heating facilities and other units implementing pollutant emission permit management according to law shall obtain the pollution emission permit; the concrete measures and implementation procedures of pollutant emission permit shall be specified by the State Council. Article 20 The enterprises, public institutions and other production operators discharging pollutants into the atmosphere shall set atmospheric pollutant discharge outlet according to those specified in laws, regulations and by the competent department of environmental protection under the State Council. It is forbidden to discharge atmospheric pollutants by taking the following manners: underlying discharge, tampering or counterfeiting monitoring data, temporary cessation of production for the purpose of escaping the on-site inspection, opening emergent discharge passage in non-emergency situation as well as abnormally operating the facilities for atmospheric pollution prevention and control. Article 21 The State shall carry out total quantity control for the key atmospheric pollutant emission. The control objective for total emissions of key atmospheric pollutants shall be reported to the State Council for approval and issued for implementation by the competent department of environmental protection under the State Council together with the competent department for comprehensive economic and trade affairs under the State Council after soliciting for opinions from relevant departments of the State Council and the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government. The people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall control or reduce the total quantity of key atmospheric pollutant emission within its administrative region according to the total quantity control objective issued by the State Council. The concrete measures for determining the total quantity control objective and decomposing total quantity control index shall be specified by the competent department of environmental protection under the State Council together with the relevant departments of the State Council. The people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government may carry out total quantity control for the emission of atmospheric pollutants other than the national key atmospheric pollutants according to the demand of atmospheric pollution prevention and control of the corresponding administrative region. The State shall gradually implement the pollution rights trading for key atmospheric pollutants. Article 22 As for the region with the total emission amount of national key atmospheric pollutant exceeding the control index or failing to complete atmospheric environment quality improvement objective issued by the nation, the environmental protection competent departments of the People’s governments at or above the provincial level together with relevant departments shall interview the person chiefly in charge of the people's government within the region, and suspend the examination and approval of the environmental impact assessment documents of the construction project for newly-adding total emission of key atmospheric pollutants within the region. The interview conditions shall be publicized to the society. Article 23 The competent department of environmental protection under the State Council shall be responsible for establishing the specification for monitoring and assessing the atmospheric environment quality and source of atmospheric pollution, organizing, establishing and managing nationwide monitoring network for atmospheric environment quality and source of atmospheric pollution, organizing to develop atmospheric environment quality and atmospheric pollution source monitoring as well as uniformly issuing the information about nationwide atmospheric environment quality conditions. The environmental protection competent departments of the local people’s governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for establishing and managing the monitoring network for atmospheric environment quality and source of atmospheric pollution within the corresponding administrative region, developing atmospheric environment quality and atmospheric pollution source monitoring and uniformly issuing the information about the atmospheric environment quality conditions of the corresponding administrative region. Article 24 The enterprises, public institutions and other production operators shall monitor the discharged industrial waste gases and the poisonous and harmful atmospheric pollutants listed in the list specified in Article 78 of the Law as well as keep the original monitoring record according to the relevant national regulations and the monitoring specification. Thereinto, key pollutant emission units shall install and use automatic monitoring equipment for atmospheric pollutant emission which shall be connected to the monitoring equipment of the competent department of environmental protection so that the monitoring equipment normally operates and the emission information is publicized according to law. The concrete measures for monitoring and the conditions of key pollutant emission units shall be specified by the competent department of environmental protection under the State Council. The list of key pollutant emission units shall be determined and publicized to the society by the environmental protection competent departments of the local people's governments above the level of city divided into districts together with relevant departments according to the requirements of the competent department of environmental protection under the State Council, the corresponding administrative region's atmospheric environmental carrying capacity, the requirements of control index for total emissions of key atmospheric pollutants as well as the kind, quantity and concentration of atmospheric pollutants discharged by the pollutant emission units. Article 25 The key pollutant emission units shall be responsible for the authenticity and accuracy of automatic monitoring data. In case of finding the data transmission of the automatic monitoring equipment for atmospheric pollutant emission of the key pollutant emission unit is abnormal, the competent department of environmental protection shall carry out investigation timely.

Chapter 1 General Chapter 2 Atmospheric pollution Prevention and Control Standard and Planning of Reaching the Standard within a Definite Time Chapter 3 Supervision and Management of Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Chapter 4 Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control Measures Section 1 Fuel Coal and Other Energies Pollution Prevention and Control Section 2 Industrial Pollution Prevention and Control Section 3 Motor Vehicle and Powerboat Pollution Prevention and Control Section 4 Raising Dust Pollution Prevention and Control Section 5 Agricultural and Other Pollutions Prevention and Control Chapter 5 Combined Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution within Key Region Chapter 6 Coping with Heavy Pollution Weather Chapter 7 Legal Liabilities Chapter 8 Supplementary Provisions